Mobile Money Services as a Panacea to Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa

One of the most important drivers for sustainable economic growth and development is financial inclusion. This explains why financial exclusion is a leading cause of extreme poverty and a key barrier to growth. The level of financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa still remains low. However, there is evidence that mobile money technology, taking advantage of the high level of mobile phone penetration in the region, has been seen to drive financial inclusion. However, very few studies have been conducted in the region to particularly establish the extent mobile money service usage has leveraged financial inclusion. In this study, we investigate the extent to which three most common mobile money services namely, sending money, receiving money and bill payment have leveraged financial inclusion in a Sub-Saharan African country like Uganda. Our study reveals that the most widely used mobile money service in this rural area was for receiving money. This has greatly enhanced financial inclusion by facilitating both domestic and international remittance.

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Mobile money and financial inclusion of migrants in sub-Saharan Africa

10.4337/9781839100611.00029 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 251-266

Author(s):

Adrian Kitimbo

Keyword(s):

Financial Inclusion ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Mobile Money ◽

Sub Saharan

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Mobile Money Transfer

Advances in Finance, Accounting, and Economics - Impact of Mobile Payment Applications and Transfers on Business ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-2398-8.ch001 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Martin Kang'ethe Gachukia

Keyword(s):

Financial Inclusion ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Economic Policies ◽

African Countries ◽

Middle Income ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Mobile Money ◽

International Remittances ◽

Money Transfer ◽

Sub Saharan

The chapter reviews the growth of mobile money transactions (MMTs) and their effect on international remittances and financial inclusion. The novelty of MMTs is its widening adaptation beyond Sub-Saharan Africa with increased confidence in use of MMTs by international humanitarian agencies and governments in reaching out to citizenry through government-to-people (G2P) as well as people-to-government (P2G) payment platforms. The chapter is conceptualized on the emergent themes emanating from the World Bank data under the G20 financial inclusion indicators in 60 countries with remarkable MMTs per 100,000 adults. Emergent findings from the data indicates of MMT benefits to small countries such as the Pacific Island countries, benign economic policies under West African countries, increased uptake of cash and voucher transfers through humanitarian support, and the pursuit of cashless economy through mobile wallets. In essence, the growth of MMTs is currently viewed as leap-frog strategy to the low- and middle-income countries embracing MMTs in promoting the sustainable development goals.

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Mobile Money and Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Moderating Role of Social Networks

Journal of African Business ◽

10.1080/15228916.2017.1416214 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 361-384 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

George Okello Candiya Bongomin ◽

Joseph M Ntayi ◽

John C. Munene ◽

Charles Akol Malinga

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Financial Inclusion ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Mobile Money ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Moderating Role

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Semi-Systematic Review of the Perceived Cost of Mobile Payment in Sub-Saharan Africa

Perspectives on Global Development and Technology ◽

10.1163/15691497-12341592 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 205-224

Author(s):

Cephas Paa Kwasi Coffie ◽

Hongjiang Zhao

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Financial Inclusion ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Mobile Money ◽

The Poor ◽

Telecommunication Companies ◽

Mobile Charges ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Cost ◽

Financial Technology

Abstract Financial technology offers convenience, security, and affordability. In sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money is the flagship offering hypothesized to promote financial inclusion. Nonetheless, the persistent complaints from end-users about the cost associated with mobile money usage in the sub-region have gone under the radar. Therefore, using the semi-systematic review of news articles and blogs’ in direct content analysis, we explore the cost of mobile money usage in the sub-region. We examine the state of mobile charges and how it potentially reverses the original purpose of FinTech. Results indicate that governments and other stakeholders find mobile money charges to be high. The imposition of mobile money tax and the regressive structure of mobile money charges affect the poor. The effort of policymakers to reduce the cost of mobile money in the sub-region is ineffective because the FinTech market is dominated by few foreign-owned telecommunication companies. Thus, the creation and promotion of a domestic FinTech market are necessary to promote greater financial inclusion.

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The Global Financial Meltdown of 2008, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Way Forward for Sustainable Economic Growth and Development

International Journal of Economics and Finance ◽

10.5539/ijef.v4n1p3 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ashford C. Chea

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Growth And Development ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Economic Growth And Development ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Sustainable Economic Growth ◽

The Way

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Mobile Money and Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa Countries

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3275133 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Onkokame Mothobi ◽

Goodiel Moshi ◽

Mariama Deen-Swarray

Keyword(s):

Financial Inclusion ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Mobile Money ◽

Sub Saharan

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An Investigation into the Level of Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa

Scientific Annals of Economics and Business ◽

10.2478/saeb-2019-0004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

pp. 41-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Biliqees Ayoola Abdulmumin ◽

Oyebola Fatima Etudaiye-Muhtar ◽

Abdulrasaq Taiye Jimoh ◽

Ola Ridwan Sakariyahu

Keyword(s):

Secondary Data ◽

Principal Component ◽

Financial Inclusion ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Developing Regions ◽

High Propensity ◽

Medium Level ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

High Level ◽

Open Question

Abstract Financial inclusion is crucial for redistribution of economic resources between the deficit and surplus units in an economy. Despite the importance of financial inclusion, especially for economic growth of developing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, the prevailing level financial inclusion remain an open question. Against this background, this study investigates the level of financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2005 and 2015. This study employs secondary data obtained from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The data obtained was subjected to Principal Component Analysis to determine the level of financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings show that Sub-Saharan Africa has a medium level of financial inclusion during the observed period with Index of Financial Inclusion (IFI) value of 0.095023. The study concludes that Sub-Saharan Africa has high propensity to achieve a high level of financial inclusion in the region if more outlets of financial institutions are established.

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Financial Inclusion, Income Inequality and Sustainable Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan African Countries

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13041780 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 1780

Author(s):

Chima M. Menyelim ◽

Abiola A. Babajide ◽

Alexander E. Omankhanlen ◽

Benjamin I. Ehikioya

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Income Inequality ◽

Financial Services ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Kuznets Curve ◽

African Countries ◽

Financial Access ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Sustainable Economic Growth ◽

The Impact

This study evaluates the relevance of inclusive financial access in moderating the effect of income inequality on economic growth in 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for the period 1995 to 2017. The findings using the Generalised Method of Moments (sys-GMM) technique show that inclusive financial access contributes to reducing inequality in the short run, contrary to the Kuznets curve. The result reveals a negative effect of financial access on the relationship between income inequality and economic growth. There is a positive net effect of inclusive financial access in moderating the impact of income inequality on economic growth. Given the need to achieve the Sustainable Development Targets in the sub-region, policymakers and other stakeholders of the economy must design policies and programmes that would enhance access to financial services as an essential mechanism to reduce income disparity and enhance sustainable economic growth.

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Mapping of affordability levels for photovoltaic-based electricity generation in the solar belt of sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and South Asia

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-82638-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sándor Szabó ◽

Irene Pinedo Pascua ◽

Daniel Puig ◽

Magda Moner-Girona ◽

Mario Negre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

East Asia ◽

South Asia ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Term Operation ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

High Level ◽

Do So

AbstractLack of access to modern forms of energy hampers efforts to reduce poverty. The provision of electricity to off-grid communities is therefore a long-standing developmental goal. Yet, many off-grid electrification projects neglect mid- and long-term operation and maintenance costs. When this is the case, electricity services are unlikely to be affordable to the communities that are the project’s primary target. Here we show that, compared with diesel-powered electricity generation systems, solar photovoltaic systems are more affordable to no less than 36% of the unelectrified populations in East Asia, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. We do so by developing geo-referenced estimates of affordability at a high level of resolution (1 km2). The analysis illustrates the differences in affordability that may be found at the subnational level, which underscores that electrification investments should be informed by subnational data.

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